Long recognized as one of the finest and most versatile jazz singers of her generation, Dee Dee Bridgewater is known for her mesmerizing live performances - several of which are captured on her latest Verve release, Live at Yoshi’s. This collection of performances was recorded over a series of three dates (April 23rd, 24th and 25th) in 1998 in Oakland, California’s premier jazz club.

Dee Dee made her phenomenal New York debut in 1970 as the lead vocalist for the band led by Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, one of the premier jazz orchestras of the time. These New York years marked an early career in concerts and on recordings with such authentic giants as Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Max Roach, and Roland Kirk, and rich experiences with Norman Conners, Stanley Clarke, and Frank Foster’s "Loud Minority."

As the ‘70’s progressed, Dee Dee’s reputation in music circles shot upwards and she continued to perform with a virtual Who’s Who of jazz notables such as Roy Haynes, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Harper, Cecil McBee and Roland Kirk, among others. After releasing a series of albums and appearing on Broadway in the musical The Wiz, Bridgewater decided to relocate to France in the ‘80s. Like Josephine Baker in the Thirties, Dee Dee became a Parisian, adopting the language, customs and lifestyle of the French - becoming a favorite performer and appearing on national television shows at concerts, clubs and festivals.

The past decade found Dee Dee focusing her vocal prowess once again on jazz. She signed with the Verve label and released a series of well-received titles: Keeping Tradition (1992), 1994’s Love and Peace, an album devoted to the music of Horace Silver and her loving tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, Dear Ella (1997) recorded in New York, Los Angeles and London.

Which brings us to the present and "Live At Yoshi’s", a recording that brilliantly confirms what was already obvious - now that Ella, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Dinah Washington and Betty Carter are no longer with us, Dee Dee has become the universal incarnation of the consummate female jazz singer. At ease in any setting, at any tempo, sensual, full of nuance and vividly expressive, she reigns supreme and proves beyond a doubt in this live setting that patrons who attend her concerts certainly get their money’s worth.

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Real name: Dee Dee Garrett.
Born: May 27, 1950 in Memphis.
Genres: Jazz.
Styles: Vocal Jazz, Standards, Contemporary Jazz.
Instruments: Vocals.

One of the best jazz singers of her generation, Dee Dee Bridgewater (who was married to trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater in the early '70s) had to move to France to find herself. She performed in Michigan during the '60s and toured the Soviet Union in 1969 with the University of Illinois Big Band. She sang with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis orchestra (1972-1974) and appeared in the Broadway musical The Wiz (1974-1976). Due to erratic records and a lack of direction, Bridgewater was largely overlooked in the jazz world by the time she moved to France in the '80s. She appeared in the show Lady Day and at European jazz festivals, and eventually formed her own backup group. By the late '80s, Bridgewater's Verve recordings were starting to alert American listeners as to her singing talents. Her 1995 Horace Silver tribute disc (Love and Peace) is a gem, and resulted in the singer extensively touring the U.S, reintroducing her to American audiences. She would find even more success with her tribute album, Dear Ella, which won a Grammy in 1997. This Is New, released in 2002, featured Bridgewater singing Kurt Weill songs, while 2005’s J’ai Deux Amours found her tackling French classics. For 2010’s Eleanora Fagan (1917-1959): To Billie with Love from Dee Dee, Bridgewater offered her versions of several songs associated with Billie Holiday.

- Scott Yanow (All Music Guide)

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На самом излёте оттепели, в 1969 году, у нас гастролировал студенческий джаз-оркестр Иллинойсского университета. Его солисткой была 19-летняя Дениз (Ди-Ди) Гарретт (впоследствии Бриджуотер). А в 1972 году, когда джаз у нас перешёл фактически на нелегальное положение, в Москве всё-таки состоялись гастроли знаменитого оркестра Тэда Джоунса - Мела Луиса, где солисткой была та же Ди-Ди Бриджуотер. Вскоре она стала джазовой звездой французской столицы. Гастролировавшие в Европе соотечественники охотно с ней музицировали. Звали обратно, на родину, но она в Америку выбиралась редко и пела больше чёрную попмузыку в стиле соул и фанки (в дуэте с Рэем Чарльзом записала хит Precious Thing). Одно время Ди-Ди Бриджуотер играла на Бродвее в мюзикле The Wiz (по книжке "Волшебник Изумрудного города"). Спектакль получил премию Тоnу, и певицу тут же пригласили участвовать в джазовом мюзикле, посвящённом певице Билли Холидей, и ещё в одном шоу - с сопрано Юлией Михенес.
В начале 90-х, когда накатила волна джазового неоконсерватизма, Ди-Ди Бриджуотер стала безупречно перевоплощаться в джазовых вокалистов недавнего прошлого. И в 1997 году получила Грэмми - за альбом "Дорогая Элла", где она исполнила "роль" Эллы Фицджералд.
Сейчас голос Ди-Ди Бриджуотер всё такой же "объёмный", как тридцать лет назад.